Throughout its long-running history, Survivor has successfully lured fans of all ages to gaze on a bunch of castaways stuck in some island or desert or swamp. Arguably, the composition of Survivor contestants has not changed dramatically over the course of 17 seasons. There are young and there are old (although these people tend to get eliminated early on), while it can be noticed that there are more better-looking people than plain-looking ones, especially toward the latter seasons and despite its credo of supposedly aiming for "a diverse group of men and women who represent a broad cross-section of American society." Some critics of the show, perhaps for purposes of verisimilitude or fairness, want even more plain-looking people on the show. There are those, meanwhile, who don't have any problems seeing eye-candies populating their television screens every episode, while arguing that it is highly doubtful that Survivor would have achieved such high ratings historically and sustained it if it weren't for those hunks and babes.

Another factor that limited participation in Survivor is the age limit. Recently, CBS has announced that it lowered its limit for Survivor Gabon from 21 to 18 in all but five states (Alabama, District of Columbia, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Wyoming), allowing more younger demographic in the show. Others may dismiss it as merely a way to hike up the ratings because, after 17 seasons, there is no clear link between age and success on the show.

True Survivor fans, on the other hand, shouldn't have any problem with this change. After all, what makes the show interesting ? and also what the guidelines specify ? are people with "interesting lifestyles, backgrounds, and personalities." And barring people who are eligible on these grounds just because they're a year or two short makes us miss out on some possibly good television.